The present invention relates to maternity beds and headwall structures to support the delivery procedures and post delivery recovery.
It is common practice to place the delivering mother on a maternity bed or birthing bed which is positioned or docked adjacent a headwall which is equipped with all sorts of patient care equipment to support the delivery process and, in fact, any event that may occur during the delivery process. Such maternity beds are rather complicated structures with a foot section which is typically removable and with separate and articulating leg and foot support sections. This type of maternity bed is well known and it is very important to have the delivering mother on such a bed to deal with whatever event may occur during the birthing process. Once the infant is delivered, however, and the mother is no longer in need of further procedures, such a maternity bed is no longer required in the patient room. What the mother needs is rest and comfort.
The headwall structures against which such birthing beds are docked typically comprise several different types of patient care equipment including gas outlets, electrical plug-ins for various types of medical equipment and diagnostic equipment.